Nine justices currently sit on the Supreme Court of the United States. The current Supreme Court justices are Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and associate justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil M. Gorsuch, Brett M. Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Six were nominated by Republican presidents and three by Democrats, producing a conservative-leaning majority that has shaped the court’s recent direction on gun rights, abortion, administrative power, and religious liberty. The number nine itself has been fixed by federal statute since 1869.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 U.S. Code 1 – Number of Justices; Quorum
The Nine Justices at a Glance
Listed in order of seniority, with the president who nominated each and the year they joined the court:
- John G. Roberts Jr., Chief Justice — nominated by George W. Bush, 2005
- Clarence Thomas — nominated by George H.W. Bush, 1991
- Samuel A. Alito Jr. — nominated by George W. Bush, 2006
- Sonia Sotomayor — nominated by Barack Obama, 2009
- Elena Kagan — nominated by Barack Obama, 2010
- Neil M. Gorsuch — nominated by Donald Trump, 2017
- Brett M. Kavanaugh — nominated by Donald Trump, 2018
- Amy Coney Barrett — nominated by Donald Trump, 2020
- Ketanji Brown Jackson — nominated by Joe Biden, 2022
The Chief Justice holds the top seniority spot regardless of appointment date. Among the associates, seniority runs by date of service and determines seating during oral arguments, speaking order in private conference, and who assigns the majority opinion when the Chief Justice is in dissent.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.
John G. Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) was confirmed as the 17th Chief Justice on September 29, 2005.2The White House Archives. Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. He came to the court from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with earlier service in the Department of Justice and the White House Counsel’s office during the Reagan administration.
The Chief Justice’s job carries duties no other justice shares. He presides over oral arguments, leads the private conferences where cases are discussed, and assigns the majority opinion whenever he votes with the majority — a power that can shape how broadly or narrowly a ruling lands.3United States Courts. About the Supreme Court He also chairs the Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets policy for the federal courts, and oversees the judiciary’s budget, which reached $9.2 billion in fiscal year 2026.4United States Courts. The Judiciary Fiscal Year 2027 Congressional Budget Summary As of 2026, the Chief Justice earns $320,700 per year; associate justices earn $306,600.5Federal Judicial Center. Judicial Salaries: Supreme Court Justices
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) has served since October 23, 1991, by far the longest tenure on the current bench. Nominated by President George H.W. Bush, he arrived at the court after a brief stint on the D.C. Circuit. His earlier career included service as assistant attorney general of Missouri and eight years as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the longest-serving chair in that agency’s history.6U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Clarence Thomas At 78, Thomas is the oldest justice currently serving.
Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Samuel A. Alito Jr. (born April 1, 1950) joined the court in January 2006 after nomination by President George W. Bush. He spent roughly sixteen years on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, from 1990 to 2006.7United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Court of Appeals Judges for the Third Circuit Before that, he worked as a U.S. Attorney in New Jersey and held positions in the Department of Justice, including as a deputy assistant attorney general.
Sonia Sotomayor
Sonia Sotomayor (born June 25, 1954) took her seat on August 8, 2009, after nomination by President Barack Obama.8United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court – Sonia Sotomayor She brought more trial court experience than most justices typically have, serving as a U.S. District Court judge in the Southern District of New York from 1992 to 1998 before a decade on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier in her career, she worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan (born April 28, 1960) was confirmed in August 2010, also nominated by President Obama. Before joining the court, she was the first woman to serve as Solicitor General of the United States, the government’s top advocate before the Supreme Court.9United States Department of Justice. Solicitor General: Elena Kagan She previously served as dean of Harvard Law School and worked as a policy adviser in the Clinton White House. Kagan is the only current justice who had never served as a judge before her Supreme Court appointment.
Neil M. Gorsuch
Neil M. Gorsuch (born August 29, 1967) joined the court on April 10, 2017, filling the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Nominated by President Trump, he had served on the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals for over a decade after appointment by President George W. Bush in 2006.10Federal Judicial Center. Gorsuch, Neil M. Gorsuch holds degrees from Harvard Law School and the University of Oxford, where he earned a doctorate in law. His earlier career included a role in the Department of Justice.
Brett M. Kavanaugh
Brett M. Kavanaugh (born February 12, 1965) was confirmed on October 6, 2018, by a 50–48 vote, the narrowest confirmation margin for a Supreme Court justice since the 19th century.11Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh A Yale Law School graduate, he spent over a decade as a judge on the D.C. Circuit. Earlier, he served as an associate independent counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr from 1994 to 1998.12National Archives. Records of Independent Counsel Kenneth W. Starr He later worked as a staff secretary in the George W. Bush White House.
Amy Coney Barrett
Amy Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) was confirmed on October 26, 2020, eight days before the presidential election, by a 52–48 vote.13United States Senate. U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 116th Congress – 2nd Session A Notre Dame Law School graduate, she returned to teach there for about fifteen years before President Trump appointed her to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. At 54, she is the youngest justice currently serving.
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Ketanji Brown Jackson (born September 14, 1970) took her seat on June 30, 2022, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.14Oyez. Ketanji Brown Jackson Nominated by President Biden, she is a Harvard Law graduate whose path stands out on a bench dominated by former prosecutors and corporate lawyers. She spent two years as an assistant federal public defender in Washington, D.C., and served as both an attorney and later a vice chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission.15United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Before her elevation to the Supreme Court, she served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and the D.C. Circuit.
How the Six-Three Split Plays Out
The partisan math shows up in results on high-profile constitutional cases, but a clean 6–3 split is not the norm in every ruling. The conservative side of the bench contains real differences of method and temperament.
Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch tend toward the most aggressive form of originalism, the view that constitutional provisions should be read as they were understood when ratified. They are the most willing to overturn precedent they view as wrongly decided. Chief Justice Roberts, Kavanaugh, and Barrett also favor originalist and textualist methods, but more often prefer incremental shifts over sweeping reversals. Roberts has a long track record of seeking narrow rulings that preserve institutional credibility, which sometimes puts him at odds with colleagues who want to move faster.
Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson form the liberal wing. They generally read constitutional protections more broadly and are more receptive to arguments about the real-world consequences of legal rules. In close cases, their path to a majority runs through convincing Roberts, Kavanaugh, or Barrett. That dynamic produces some unexpected coalitions, especially on statutory interpretation cases where close reading of text matters more than ideology.
Why This Roster Is Stable
Article II of the Constitution gives the president the power to nominate justices, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate.16Congress.gov. Constitution of the United States – Article II The Senate Judiciary Committee holds confirmation hearings, and a simple majority of the full Senate confirms. Article III then protects every confirmed justice with life tenure. They serve “during good Behaviour,” which in practice means until they choose to retire, die in office, or face impeachment.17Congress.gov. Article III Section 1 Overview – Constitution Annotated No Supreme Court justice has ever been removed through impeachment. That is why the current nine, barring a resignation or death, will remain the current nine for the foreseeable future.